by Rob Demovsky, USA TODAY Sports

by Rob Demovsky, USA TODAY Sports

GREEN BAY -- The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay has opened an investigation of men's basketball coach Brian Wardle after the school received a complaint from the parents of a former player, alleging mistreatment.

University chancellor Thomas Harden told Press-Gazette Media on Thursday that an outside agency will look into the accusations made by the parents of freshman center Ryan Bross.

"We're acting quickly," Harden said. "We're going to move assertively and bring this to a conclusion as fast as we can."

Bross, a 7-foot-1 walk-on from Menomonee Falls who redshirted this past season, decided to leave the program after the season and plans to transfer to Concordia University next season. The university did not immediately respond to an open records request asking for a copy of the letter sent by Bross' parents. Harden did not discuss the specifics of the letter but said it was the genesis for investigating a claim of mistreatment of a player.

"I think that would categorize the complaint," Harden said.

Sources familiar with the complaint said the accusation alleged verbal and emotional mistreatment by Wardle but not physical abuse.

Wardle, who will be allowed to work during the investigation, issued the following statement: "I will be supportive of this process and I'm confident in the findings. I will have no further comment until it is concluded."

UWGB athletics director Ken Bothof was out of town and did not respond to a voice message or an e-mail.

Bross' mother, Brooke, would not reveal the specifics of the letter.

"We don't want this to be tried in the media," she said. "We want the investigation to run its course."

Harden said he received the letter Tuesday evening.

"Wednesday morning, I responded to them with an e-mail saying that I consider their allegations serious, and that we would start an investigation," Harden said. "How long will it take? We don't really know. We intend to start it right away, but we don't know just how long it will take. We'll move as quickly as we can, but we'll be thorough, too."

The athletic department held a team meeting Thursday afternoon to inform the players of the investigation, according to sources. Athletic department staff conducted the meeting, but none of the men's basketball coaches were present.

"I've directed (Wardle) not to discuss it with his coaches and to do nothing that would be viewed as either impeding the investigation, which I don't think he would do anyway," Harden said. "But I did direct him not to do something or certainly not to do anything that would be punitive. He knew all of that, and he didn't really need to be told that, but I certainly did tell him."

Since mid-February, four players have left the UWGB program. Guard Kam Cerroni left Feb. 14, citing differences with Wardle. Shortly after the season, Bross and fellow freshman Nick Arenz, who played little last season, announced their decisions to leave. Monday, junior guard Sultan Muhammad was granted his release. Muhammad, who started all but 10 games last season, said he wanted to transfer closer to his home in Grand Rapids, Mich., because of a family matter, although he declined to discuss the matter.

When asked whether the letter he received was an isolated incident or a sign of a larger problem, Harden said: "I think that's what we're going to determine with the investigation. I don't want to make an assumption one way or the other. We don't have widespread complaints or allegations. We have this allegation, the complaint that I got Tuesday night, which we do think we need to check out, and we're going to do it really well."

Harden said the letter from the Bross' was the only correspondence he received.

Shortly before Cerroni left the team, he and his parents had a meeting with Wardle and Bothof in which Cerroni's differences were discussed.

"I'm familiar with Kam Cerroni's circumstances," Harden said.

Neither Cerroni nor his father, Andy, who was his high school coach at Sussex Hamilton, would comment any further about his departure when reached Thursday. Cerroni, who led the Horizon League in three-point shooting as a sophomore, will transfer to St. Norbert College.

This comes one week after Rutgers University fired men's basketball coach Mike Rice after video surfaced of him verbally and physically abusing players. Rice was fired April 4 and the school's athletic director Tim Pernetti, who initially suspended Rice for the offenses last season, was forced out several days later.

Harden said the Rutgers incident had no bearing on his decision to investigate the men's basketball program.

"That's a great question, but we would take this seriously despite what's happened someplace else," Harden said. "We're acting quickly. We're going to move assertively and bring this to a conclusion as fast as we can."

Harden said Thursday the school had not yet completed the process of obtaining an independent investigator.

"It will be an outside professional that we will bring in," Harden said. "We don't have that hiring done. It takes paperwork and a little bit of time to do that with an outside person not associated with the university."

Wardle, 33, has a 47-49 record in three seasons. He is coming off his best season, going 18-16 and finishing tied for third in the Horizon League. He has four more years remaining on his contract, which pays him a base salary of $133,132 plus another $70,000 in extra income. Wardle, who was the youngest coach in Division I at age 30 when he was hired in 2010, originally signed a five-year contract. He was given one-year extensions before each of the previous two seasons.

Rob Demovsky writes for the Green Bay (Wis.) Press-Gazette, a property of Gannett.